Passover recipes: Chicken Soup, Matzo Balls, Homemade Horseradish

For as far back as I can remember, Passover has always been one the three annual celebrations (the other two being Rosh Hashanah and Thanksgiving) that we have always celebrated as a family.

Mark Davis

For as far back as I can remember, Passover has always been one of the three annual celebrations –– the others two being Rosh Hashanah and Thanksgiving –– that we have always celebrated as a family, and by this, I mean extended family.

Our usual Passover Seder will have at least 20 of us gathered around the table, and on occasions, we have had as many as 35.

The first Passover Seder that I can remember was in the spring of 1950, when I was 5. We lived on Johnston Road in Dorchester, Mass. My sister Lynn had the measles, so my mother stayed home with her. My father and I walked to the home of my father's parents, Abe and Katie Davis.

I remember being very nervous, as this was the first time I was going to recite the four questions, and so I practiced them repeatedly with my father while we walked to my grandparents'.

My mother's mother, Anna Keesan, cooked professionally, so preparing a Passover Seder for her family of seven children, their spouses and 15 grandchildren was not a major problem, though we all pitched in to help. (By "we," I mean my mother, her sisters and sisters-in-law.)

Anna owned the house on Johnston Road where I grew up; she lived on the third floor, we lived on the second and my aunt and uncle lived on the first. Consequently, we had three kitchens available for preparing the meal.

Although I have now assumed my grandmother's role –– in that I usually do most of the planning and cooking for the Seder –– my wife, Cookie, my sister and my sister-in-law and the rest of the family always contribute. Our Passover Seder continues to be a family affair in every sense of the word.

One of the true enjoyments I always have when I am cooking the Seder meal is that it reminds me about growing up in Dorchester, about my parents and grandparents and the wonderful memories I will always have about getting together as family on these special occasions.

Here are some of the traditional recipes that I prepare every Passover. Some have evolved from my grandmother, some are from friends and relatives; all are flavored with fond memories and seasoned with love.

Chicken Soup

This recipe is a combination of my grandmother's (Anna Keesan) and my mother-in-law's (Rose Shapiro). The basic recipe is my grandmother's, (including the sugar, which she added to many recipes); my mother-in-law's contribution is the parsnip.

3 quarts of water

3- to 4-pound chicken, quartered with giblets removed

1 1/2 cups of celery, diced

1 1/2 cups of carrots, diced

1 1/2 cups of onions, diced

2 garlic cloves, whole

1/4 pound (about one large) parsnip, quartered

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon sugar

Put the water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Rinse chicken in cold water, and add to boiling water. When the water boils again, skim off the foam on top. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover.

Cook for about two hours or until the chicken is falling off the bone. Remove chicken from pot and let cool. Also remove the parsnip and garlic cloves and discard.

Once cooled, remove chicken meat from the bones and shred into small pieces. Also remove the skin and discard. Place chicken back into pot with the broth and vegetables and bring to a boil. Let cool, and keep in the refrigerator or freezer.

More often than not, there is not enough liquid to accommodate the chicken meat and vegetables. This is especially true if you add noodles or matzo balls. If you need to add more liquid, add canned chicken broth as needed. Do not add water, as this will dilute the rich flavor of the soup.

Matzo Balls (Knaidlach)

This a typical recipe, although I add an extra egg that I think makes the matzo balls lighter. Whipping the egg whites comes from my mother-in-law, Rose Shapiro.

4 eggs

3/4 cup matzo meal

1 teaspoon salt

Let eggs stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Separate eggs, and beat egg whites until stiff. Add egg yolks one at a time. Beat until both the whites and yolks are well combined. Add matzo meal slowly while continuing to mix. Add salt. Place mixture in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Form each matzo ball so that it is a little more than an inch in diameter (they will expand while cooking to almost double their size). Cook in salted boiling water with cover on for 40-45 minutes.

Roast Fresh Brisket

This is my own recipe that has evolved over time. While I receive lots of compliments for my brisket, my Aunt Nancy's version gives me stiff competition.

1/4 cup oil

1/2 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1/2 cup chopped celery

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 cup red kosher wine

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 cup water

2 1/2 to 3 pounds single fresh beef brisket

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the chopped onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Saute until the onions are translucent; then add the remaining ingredients (excluding the brisket).

Place the brisket, fat side up, in a roasting pan. Pour the sauteed mixture over meat. Place in the oven and cover (with foil or lid) for 2 hours, basting every 30 minutes. Uncover pan and continue to cook for an additional 30 minutes or more until meat is brown and fork tender, turning the meat once during this time.

Passover Rolls

This recipe is from Edie Brown of Norwood, Mass., and it is in the "Temple Shaare Tefilah Sisterhood Cookbook," 2nd edition, 1968, Norwood, Mass.

2/3 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup matzo meal

3 eggs

Preheat the over to 375 degrees. Add the water, oil, sugar and salt to a sauce pan, and bring to a boil. Remove from the stove, and add the matzo meal, mixing thoroughly. Beat the eggs one at a time and add each egg, mixing thoroughly before adding the next egg. Place some oil on your hands. Using a tablespoon, form small egg-shaped balls, and place on a greased cookie sheet. I usually put 12 rolls on a standard cookie sheet.

With your index finger, press down on the center of each roll. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the rolls become golden brown.

Carrot Tzimmes

This is a traditional Passover dish, so I use potato starch instead of flour. Typically, this amount will serve a large Passover Seder (15 to 20 people), as it is only one of several dishes that are served as part of the main course. This recipe evolved from my grandmother. There are several variations of tzimmes, depending on which part of Eastern Europe your family came from. Some variations include prunes while still others do not include the sweet potatoes.

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 pound beef chuck or beef brisket, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 cup seasoned potato starch

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/3 cup minced onion

1 1/2 quarts water

1 tablespoon GravyMaster

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

2 pounds diced carrots

1 pound sweet potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes

Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat the oil in a large (4- to 6-quart) sauce pan with a heavy bottom. Dredge the beef cubes in the seasoned potato starch and add to the pan, browning the beef on all sides. Add the minced garlic and onion and brown, stirring constantly. Add the water and bring to a boil. Skim the foam off the top and discard. Add the GravyMaster, sugar and honey.

Cover the pan, reduce to a simmer and cook for about one hour, or until the meat starts to become tender to the fork. Add the carrots and cook for another 15 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Pour the contents of the sauce pan into 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking dish, and bake for about 40 minutes or until it starts to brown on top. Remove from oven and serve.

Homemade Horseradish (Chrane)

I move the food processor outside to my porch when I make horseradish, as I always remember my father preparing it once in our kitchen using the attachment to my mother's mixer. We were all in tears for several hours afterwards. We had gone to my mother's friend's farm and had dug up the horseradish root ourselves, so it was fresh and very potent.

1 pound fresh horseradish root, peeled

1/2 pound (about 1 large) red beet, peeled

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups vinegar

Using a food processor, pass the horseradish and beet first through the grating blade, and then use the chopping blade to get it as fine as you want. You can add some of the vinegar to the processor bowl to facilitate the chopping action. Combine the horseradish and beet with the remaining vinegar and salt.

Passover Sponge Cake

This was one of my mother-in-law’s signature desserts that always appeared on her table at the holidays, especially during Passover.

9 eggs

1 3/4 cups sugar

Juice and grated rind of 1 lemon

Juice and grated rind of 1 orange

1/4 cup potato flour

3/4 cup cake meal

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Separate 7 of the eggs, and then add the remaining two whole eggs to the yolks. Beat mixture until creamy. Add the sugar gradually; then add the juice and rind of the lemon and orange. Beat mixture thoroughly. Alternately, add the potato flour and cake meal gradually.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Fold the egg whites into batter. Pour batter into an ungreased tube pan and bake for 1 hour. Remove the cake from the oven and hang upside down on a wire rack until cool.

Mark Davis is a professor of service management at Bentley University in Massachusetts and is working on a cookbook of family recipes.

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